Grabbing At Straws

 24 Hours Ago!

"Black male, 44 years old...cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma...Multiple skull fractures." said a CSI operative as a police photographer snapped photos...

" A lot of blood...It appears Rigor has set in...He's been here about 48 hours, I'd estimate."said Hazel.

"You got a name on this guy?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"Brian Bridell." said one of the men..

"The Financier!  Wowwwww! Wonder who knocked him off?" asked Lt. Tragg.

"The car is in neutral...any prints guys?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"Plenty." said one of the CSI guys...

''Alright, get him out of here...Hazel, get me a full autopsy report, ASAP!" said Lt. Tragg.

''Why? You're not going to read it." said Hazel under her breath

as the body of Mike Bridell was removed from the car and placed in a body bag on a gurney...

while the remains of the car remained at the bottom of the hill.

TODAY-

We were in court in front of Judge Elise Clemmons..

a friend of ours..

Olivia , Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bresha  were arguing for the freedom of Mrs. Louise  Bridell, accused of the First Degree Murder of her husband,  Brian Bridell... we argued that there was no in arguable proof that she had  anything to do with her husband's death.

ADA Hayden King was once again the prosecutor...

"Your Honor...There is enough circumstantial evidence that makes it very arguable that this suspect stand trial for first degree murder and be held without bail." argued Hayden...

Judge Clemmons saw that Lt. Tragg was the arresting officer and having once been arrested by him herself decided to stick it to him once again.. She set bail at $2000.00.

Olivia wrote a check for $200.00 and gave it to Josie

Josie gave it to the bailiff, a young Black guy who had been ogling her all morning.. He smiled at her, she smiled back...

Beverly caught the whole thing.

"Freshie.." she said and laughed.

Josie laughed devilishly....

"Thank you guys so much for getting my mommy out of jail." said Desiree.

"Thank You Olivia, Beverly and team." said Louise Bridell.

"Okay...I want you two to check into a hotel or motel within the city limits.. I don't want to know where it is...Not yet...Check in and use your real name." said Olivia.

"Go home and pack an overnight bag...Three days worth of clothes.. We are going to give you a Portal and this phone...It's a burner phone, so it can't be traced...Call us at this number...This way we'll keep in touch." said Nelson.

"Here comes Donnie Ray." said Bresha.

I walked into the courtroom..

"Got her out on bail huh?" I said.

"What did you find out?" asked Olivia.

"I located Tony Spears....He's alive and well and claims to have amnesia..He's staying down the street from that house...That "chill Out " spot owned by the late Brian Bridell.

''We have to get him out of there..He's possibly our alibi witness."said Beverly..

"I got a plan....Bree, how would you like to get married, for a half a day?" I said.

Bresha looked puzzled.

Beverly, Nelson and Josie smiled..

"Neicey Poo, Josie, go with Louise and Desiree, help them pack...Nelson, rent them a car, but use your name...Use our company card." said Olivia.

"I'm going with Bresha and my husband, to make sure he doesn't get his license pulled or jeapordize hers" laughed Olivia.

''We are on it Liv"said Nelson.

''See you in a little while Auntay." said Beverly..

''Pass me the keys...I'll drive."said Josie.

''This is soooo cloak and dagger."laughed Louise.

"I know , but I like it."said Desiree.

Olivia looked at me..

"Lead the way Husband!" she said with a smile..

''Let's go Bree...I'll tell you the plan in the car." I said.

"Okay!" said Bresha ,uneasily...

II-

The Duplex was down the street...It looked just like the "Chill Out" spot , where Brian Bridell took his side chicks..

Bresha rang the doorbell...

An older man answered the doorbell..

He saw her and a big smile crossed his lips....

"Well Hello....and what may I do for you little lady?" he said.

"I'm looking for my husband....Tony...Tony Spears...He was hurt...He's lost his memory...I 've been turning the city upside down looking for him...Is he here?" asked Bresha.

"There's a man here...Claims he has amnesia...says he can't remember a thing..I'll go and get him." said the man...

"YO DUDE!! THERE'S A GIRL OUT HERE....CLAIMS SHE'S YOUR WIFE!!" said the man..

Tony Spears came out of his room, took one look at Bresha and smiled..

"BABYYYYYYYY!  " he said..

"Ohhhh Tonnnyy!" exclaimed Bresha...She was thinking of her boyfriend Tony Billips..

"WOWWWWW!" said Tony Spears, who grabbed Bresha, pulled her to him and grabbed both butt cheeks and kissed her passionately..

"LAWWWWD! I think I'm cured... My Amnesia is gone.... Babbbbyyyyyyy!" he said. He Kissed her passionately...He shamelessly groped her, feeling her boobs, squeezing her butt...

"AWWWWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWWWDDD...UMMMMMMMMM!!" moaning...as Bresha politely removed his hands and broke out of his embrace...

"That's for when we get home baby!" she cooed..

"Nawww, there's a room right back here...Let's go back there and get acquainted..." he said..

"NO DARLING!!! THAT'S FOR WHEN WE ARE HOME ALONE!" she said firmly, removing his hands again..

"I figured she'd cure whatever ails you boy..."said the man...holding back a laugh.

"Heyyy Mr. Thanks for everything... I think I'll be alright...Wait right here baby!" He said. He grabbed his bag and followed Bresha outside.. He tried to kiss her again, but she pushed him away...

"Take your hands off my butt!! .....and don't try to kiss me again, you got all that  for free...Game is over !!Get in the car."said Bresha.

"You're an undercover cop aint you?" asked Tony Spears.

"No, I'm a Lawyer." said Bresha.

"Yeah right!" he laughed..

He looked at the Lexus.

"Nice Wheels, this ride yours?" he asked, smiling sheepishly....

"It's mine!!....Knock off the act and get in the car." I said.

"You're a cop!!!....Judging by the way you dress....I'm guessin you're a Federalli.." said Tony..

"Don't make me ask you again...GET IN THE CAR!" I said.

Olivia and Bresha got in another car,parked in back of us and pulled off..

Tony got in the car with me and we pulled off in the opposite direction.

.

At home, Beverly, Nelson and Josie sat at our conference room table awaiting our return...

"I don't know what Donnie Ray's plan is, but  he found Tony Spears in record time..I swear if I ever committed murder or tried to vanish, I'd hate to have Donnie Ray on my trail," laughed Beverly.

"I hear you Honey Bun...He is our MVP....His investigations have kept us from losing a case..We Always have good pertinent information on everything...Our Clients, the people in their lives, autopsy results, DNA,prints, the works.." laughed Nelson.

"I remember the first case I tried by myself...He gave me more information than I needed, but it turned out...It helped me..and he talked to me so gently and soothingly...He made me feel so comfortable...I perfectly see how he swept your aunt off her feet.." said Josie ,with a smile.

"More than she cares to admit!" laughed Beverly...

"Heyyy, here they come now!" said Nelson.

"Heyyy guys, we are back...Donnie Ray took Tony Spears to Lt. Tragg...He thinks Spears may provide 

Louise's alibi." said Olivia.

"That Tony Spears was a 48 carrot phony baloney...I said I was his "wife" and he went for it hook and sinker, kissing me, squeezing my butt and squeezing my boobs....and as soon as Donnie Ray approached him , he suddenly got his memory back!" said Bresha.

"Donnie Ray figured as much..."laughed Josie.

"I filled your tank up on the way home...Thanks for letting me use your car." said Olivia.

"Anytime Auntay!" said Beverly with a smile.

III-

Tony Spears sat alone in the "Fishbowl" the nickname the Detectives gave to the interrogation room..

He had been missing abducted by Brian Bridell, but he didn't committ any crime, he wondered what the cops wanted with him...

"Don't ever say I never did you any favors....Lieutenant...That is the missing Tony Spears , that our client told you about...That she was looking for when she went to her husband's "Love Nest" ,Only she didn't find him..He could be her alibi and the key to this whole case." I said.

"I think you're grasping at straws Donnie Ray, but one good turn deserves another...Come on in ..I'll let you talk to him...before I cut him loose..He's not wanted for any crime.." explained Lt. Tragg.

"Hey how long you guys gonna hold me huh?  I haven't been read my rights...I haven't been charged with any crime.." said Tony Spears..

"Oh so now, not only have you regained your memory, but you're an attorney now.." I said.

"I'm a private investigator..I am employed by Attorneys representing Louise Bridell, the wife of your business partner, Brian Bridell, who was murdered...." I said.

"Murdered?? Brian is dead???  Whoaaaaaaa!!! " said Tony Spears..

"Now that you have your memory back Ace, why don't you tell me what happened in the past 72 hours." I said,.

"Look....Bridell and I were working on a deal,,A huge deal, worth close to a billion dollars.. Only I found out...He had crossed me..He had aced me out of the deal and was partnering up with a guy named Jerome..Jerome Benson...I found out that Jerome Benson and he were doing a little insider trading and I had proof...I called him and told him that I knew about him double crossing me and I knew what he and Jerome were doing...He told me to stop by his house and we could work it all out... I stopped by his house and I got hit from behind...I think with a sap... I was semi conscious....I remember lying on the couch...His wife Louise and his step daughter Desiree

put a cold towel on my head...They tried to call 911.

But Brian insisted he could get me to the hospital faster... He put me on the back seat of his car..He didn't take me to the hospital...When I woke up, still groggy...We were in back of his "Chill Out" spot, where he took his side chicks...and I knew then that he planned to kill me.. Not a lot of people live around there...He could shoot me and nobody would hear the shot...

I heard him loading his gun...That's when I clocked him, knocked him the hell out... I got out the car and tried to run...but I fell out...When I woke up...I was in Mr. Beiber's house, where you found me..And that's the truth." said Tony.

I believed him....

''What About Mrs. Bridell? Where does she fit into all of this? She went looking for you." I said.

"I never saw her." said Tony Spears.

''Alright, that's it... If he has anything else to say...It'll be to the Assistant District Attorney, Hayden King...

"This is a subpeona pal....You are a witness for the prosecution...You are free to go, but you have a court date...Don't plan on missing it." said Lt. Tragg.

"Lt. Tragg, he's our alibi...I wished you had let me question him more." I said.

"You and Olivia are grabbing at straws....He 's no alibi...He was Mrs. Bridell's lover and she intervened and killed her husband...Her fingerprints are all over that cabin and all over the car..."said Lt. Tragg.

''She spent the night in the cabin....She's admitted to that..That's her husband's car...She drives it at times , of course her fingerprints would be on it...Did the lab find any other prints?" I asked.

"They did, plenty of prints, the step-daughter, Mrs. Bridell, The murder victim, Spears..I'm going with the wife did it...And since I let you interview him , I'd say we were even...Good Night Donnie Ray."said  Lt. Tragg.

I went home...

I was in time for dinner...Olivia had closed the office early...She ,Beverly, Josie and Bresha 

had gone to the supermarket...

and had come home and fixed a nice summer meal.....I was glad because I was famished...

The girls had cooked up some fried chicken....

Corn on the cobb

and a nice salad......

with some Ice Tea to wash it down...

"Lt. Tragg is the biggest butthead I have ever dealt with in my life..." I said..

"You're just now discovering this?" said Alfreda, smiling and rubbing my back....She had made a plate for me..

"Calm down...this good fried chicken will make you feel better." she said.

''So ADA Hayden King has Tony Spears and we practically gave him to her..That's okay...You tried honey....We'll think of something else." said Olivia, who sat in my lap as we both ate our food..

"He said...Bridell and he were working on a deal,,A huge deal, worth close to a billion dollars.. Only he found out...Bridell had crossed him..He had aced him out of the deal and was partnering up with a guy named Jerome..Jerome Benson...He found out that Jerome Benson and Brian Bridell were doing a little insider trading and he said he  had proof...He called him and told him that he knew about him double crossing him and he knew what he and Jerome were doing...Bridell told him to stop by his house and that they could work it all out... He said he stopped by his house and he got hit from behind...He thinks with a sap... He was semi conscious....He remembers lying on the couch...His wife Louise and his step daughter Desiree was begging him to call 911 , but Bridell insisted that he could get him to the hospital faster.. This jibe's with both Louise and Desiree's story that after an hour, they checked with all the local hospitals and he wasn't registered there...Spears ,possibly suffereing from a concussion woke up in back of that house..The Duplex where Bridell took his chicks...Bridell was planning to kill him and bury him in those back woods...You've seen that place..Nobody would have heard him...They struggled , he said he clocked him..Knocked him out and got out of the car, ran and collapsed..When he woke up, he was in Mr. Beiber's house."I said.

"Wow , that's some story....You believe him?" asked Nelson..

"I do..It jibes with Louise's story.." I said. "Plus he said, he never saw her, not at all." I added.

"He'd make a better witness for us than the prosecution." said Beverly..

"Right...In all of that misadventure, he never once mentions her...They can't place her at the scene."said Josie.

"But they know she was at that Duplex...Her prints and DNA are all over the Duplex."said Bresha.

''An Autopsy report...when it's finished , will establish time of death...I think her husband was already dead and down in that embankment when she got there...Remember she didn't see the car...There was no sign of it and she certainly didn't mention any gun." said Olivia.

"Gun??? What Gun?? I'm looking at this police report...There is no mention of any gun being found."said Beverly.

"And you did say that he mentioned a gun being loaded." said Nelson.

''He did...I'm going back in those woods and search that car...Maybe Lt. Tragg and the CSI boys missed that gun." I said.

"He said he clocked him, what if he hit him harder than he thought ,accidentally killing him when he got out of the car?" asked Josie..

''And pushed that car down into the woods...." said Olivia.

"He was suffering from a possible concussion...he was in no physical shape to do all that...This had to be someone else... The car was in neutral....That shows an intentional act..." I said.

"How did you find him anyway?" asked Bresha..

"In Every missing persons case, I check their financials and their phone first..He ordered Pizza  and a Hoagie from a nearby establishment using his credit card ,the night after he was reported missing..I stopped by the establishment and they told me the food was ordered by phone and delivered to an address, an address that turned out to be right down the street from the "Love Nest" and he made five calls to a young lady named Shawn Lacey...Who I'm going to talk to tomorrow...At any rate..I knew he was still alive and I knew where he was staying.."I said.

"Ummmm smart and sexy....I hit the jackpot with you." Olivia whispered in my ear...

Rewarding me with a big kiss....

IV-

Curley's bar was crowded tonight...

Assistant District Attorney, Hayden King had just finished her second Margarita , when a third one arrived.. She hadn't ordered another... She looked into the Horizon and she saw Lt. Arthur Tragg.

She looked at her full glass and smiled.

"Enjoy darlin....You're welcome...I found that missing guy, Tony Spears and got a subpeona.... He's all yours , signed , sealed and delivered..." said Lt. Tragg.

"You found him?  wow, that's pretty good detective work...How did you find him?" asked Hayden King.

Lieutenant Tragg had no idea how I had found Tony Spears and his pride and enormus ego would never let him admit that a private investigator had actually located him and dropped him in his lap.

"Tricks of the trade babe...I've been doin this detective thing for a lonnnng time." he bragged smiling.

She was skeptical, but she decided to just accept it..

Meanwhile,

We were back in the wooded area ,looking at the car where the body of  Brian Bridell had been found..

The police surprisingly hadn't removed the car yet...but I knew they would be within the next day...

Desiree had given me a spare set of keys...

"You take me to some of the most interesting places Donnie Ray." said Olivia, smiling...

I smiled and opened the door of the car....I insisted everybody wear latex gloves... I didn't need this car being contaminated anymore than it was already.   If I was running this investigation, I would have had this car removed immediately.....but I wasn't.. Lt. Tragg was.

"Pop the trunk....The cops probably already did this.." said Beverly...

She and Nelson searched the trunk and Olivia and I searched the car.....None of us found any gun and there was no gun mentioned in the police report...

"Look, I did find something...A spent shell....A .38..." said Olivia.

"It's old...but it does prove he had that gun in here at some time...He has a license to carry...I checked..but there is no gun in this car and the police didn't mention anything about a gun in the police report...Come on...close it up...Let's go." I said.

"You think the killer has the gun?" asked Nelson..

"Maybe...but one thing is for sure...The police don't have it and it's not in this car.." I said.

The four of us walked up the hill..

Josie and Bresha had been sitting in our SUV, waiting for us to return..

They were surrounded by Three Unmarked Police cars...

Assistant District Attorney Hayden King was standing at the top of the hill, smiling at us..

''Wellllllll look who it is..Defense Counsel...Do you always spend a nice afternoon like this on a fishing expedition or grabbing at straws?" she asked.

"No Most nights...We spend, eating dinner and talking with our friends...How about you?" asked Olivia.

"Yeah , you look like you're bored too and out for a little night of fishing."said Beverly.

''Would you mind telling your guys to move out of our way so we can go home?" asked Nelson.

"I think you of all people should give me a little leeway considering the favor I did you today...I delivered your witness , which you wasted no time subpeonaing  right in your lap." I said.

"So you found him...It wasn't Lt. Tragg's great police work...?" she said.

We all busted out laughing and we laughed for a long time...Finally..Hayden said.

"You're looking for a gun....I talked to Tony Spears and he mentioned a gun...Yet it's not in the police report at all....I talked to the cops and the CSI guys...and the Medical Examiner crew...Nobody remembers seeing a gun...I know the victim had a license to carry...but there was no gun." she said.

She was sharp, she did her homework....

"We didn't find any gun either..." I said.

"I see you all wore Latex gloves...Thank you for not contaminating this scene even more.. Uh if you guys had of found a gun, you would have turned it over to the police right?" she asked with a smile.

"Of course." said Olivia with a smile...

"I know you would...You're too smart of an attorney not to...My Uncle speaks very highly of you guys."said ADA Hayden King.

"Who is your Uncle?" asked Beverly...

"Judge Michael King...You may have heard of him." she said.

"I have...we all have practiced in his courtroom." said Olivia.

"He's tough, but fair." said Nelson..

"For sure." said Josie.

"Small World isn't it?  Well...if all minds are clear....You can go...I'll see you in court...Good Night counselors." said Hayden King.

I tossed the keys to Bree..

''You're driving tonight." I said with a smile.

"Cooool.. Get in..." she said.

Josie rode up front with her..

while Olivia and Me, Beverly and Nelson..piled into the back..

and pulled off...

ADA Hayden King got in one of the unmarked cars

and she and the other two cars all pulled off...

That Duplex and the woods behind it seemed very ominous and creepy now!

(TO BE CONTINUED)